If I live to an age at which all I can do is muse about days gone by, yesterday will be one of 'those days' that I dwell on. Probably.

I spent most of the day making 'hebo-go-hei-mochi' in preparation for a local festival.

Then, at 3pm, I checked my phone and saw that I had a missed call from an unknown number. I called the unknown number, and the conversation went something like this:

'Oh, hi, how are you doing? I was calling you because we have found a giant hornet nest and so we're about to go and dig it out but we thought you might like to come along too'

To this i responded with a very (probably too) strong YES AND THANK YOU SO SO MUCH.

First, we checked out the place where they had begun hornet-hunting. The bait was a 2 litre bottle of sugar water hanging from a persimmon tree (above). Several hours earlier, they tied a piece of white string to one of the hornets feeding on the sugar water, and followed it back to the nest.

Giant hornets travel up to 2km from the nest when foraging for food. The nests that they found yesterday were fairly close by, about 0,5km away from the bait, on the edge of a rice field (above).

In order to see the 'harvesting' process first hand, it was necessary to wear this suit (above). The suit alone is not enough, though; Every opening (ankles, wrists) must be taped up tightly, and two layers of goves are required. Even then, the only thing protecting one's face is a net, and since the hornets can shoot their venom some distance if provoked, there is a danger that some may go in the eyes. I received some great expert advice to avoid this: 'If it goes in your eyes, you'll be temporarily blinded, maybe for a couple of days. So take care. Just don't look up.'

When this photo (above) was taken, I felt like the special suit (in all its taped-up glory) was a bit OTT.

...But by the time that this photo was taken, I was beginning to wonder if the taped-up suit was really enough! We had approached the nest, Tetsuo-san had disturbed them by slashing away at the surrounding vegetation and widening the nest hole, and giant hornets were flying at us from all directions. They fly fast and purposefully into you, bouncing off the suit with a loud buzzing noise. One or two is unsettling enough, but when all of a sudden 100-odd hornets come at you, it does feel a bit...different.

In the picture above Tetsuo-san is redirecting the hornets into a big bottle of white liquor. The first time he asked me 'Want to try?' I was far too busy worrying about the strength of the suit and attempting to protect my eyes. Gradually, though, I got accustomed to the feeling of being under continuous hornet attack, and I took on the task of hitting hornets into white liquor. Difficult, but profitable labour.

After hitting as many adult hornets into the white liquor as possible, the next task is to reach down into the nest hole and pull out the nest. In the photo above, Tetsuo-san is pulling out the nest layers one by one and placing them on the ground next to the hornet-filled liquor.

Here's our harvest:

And some close-ups:

Recipes to follow!

Although it turns out that what they say is true: These are best eaten raw, straight from the nest.